1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a clasp assembly for gripping a hose or similar elongated flexible member. In particular, it pertains to a type of clasp assembly and to attach a hydraulic hose or the like to a taut wire cable or other supporting member.
In connection with offshore drilling of oil and gas wells and in production work and other operations on such wells, well drilling or completion equipment is frequently disposed on the ocean floor. Operations are generally controlled from a platform or vessel located above the water surface. It is frequently necessary to provide a hydraulic hose connection between the underwater equipment and the surface. Such hose connections are not generally self-supporting and cannot practically be pulled taut between the surface and the well head. The hoses are prevented from stretching or being swept about by underwater currents by attaching the hoses, at several locations along this length, to a taut steel cable extending from the surface to the subsurface equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, numerous mechanisms have been devised for attaching submarine hoses to metal support cables, but none have been entirely satisfactory. One of the primary problems with such devices has been the failure to provide a simple, convenient means of firmly gripping a hose without constricting or distorting it. In some cases it was necessary to resort to awkward, primitive, and inconvenient expedients such as securing the hose with ropes used either alone or as auxiliary gripping means together with some type of clasp. In other cases, clasps alone are used. These, however, are relatively mechanically complicated and thus expensive. They often involve extensive moving parts such as boom assemblies. Still other prior art clasps require a number of separate parts which must be removed to open and close the clasp. These parts are easily lost when being handled on board the surface platform or when being handled underwater by divers. Still another problem with certain of these prior art clasps is that they may be gradually worked open while in use due to the constant current induced movement of the hoses.